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Australia to be judged on reef efforts

Patrick Caruana

Australia's credibility as protector of the Great Barrier Reef hangs in the balance.

Early next year, the United Nations' environmental arm UNESCO will decide whether to list the reef as a World Heritage site in danger.

News about the health of the reef in 2012 is concerning, to say the least.

The most sobering assessment came in October, when a major study revealed coral cover had been halved since the mid-1980s due to cyclones, bleaching and the crown-of-thorns starfish.

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The study warned that on current trends, what's left of the coral could halve again within the next 10 years.

Earlier this year, UNESCO put Australia on notice over its management of the reef, criticising the Queensland and federal governments for their handling of coastal development.

The UN body's concern was sparked by gas industry developments on Curtis Island off Gladstone, and prompted UNESCO to send a delegation to Australia to check on the safeguards in place for an environmental asset of global importance.

UNESCO was far from happy with what it found and expressed concern at the scale of development being considered in and adjacent to the World Heritage area.

The global body warned the reef could be put on the World Heritage in Danger list if Australia does not demonstrate it's taking appropriate action to protect the area.

Such a listing would be a massive blow to Australia's environmental credentials, its international reputation, and Queensland's tourism industry.

Despite the high-level concern, the state government has shown signs of indifference bordering on hostility towards UNESCO and has maintained development can occur without threatening the reef.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke had a very public stoush with the Newman government, saying he couldn't trust the state with environmental approvals and accusing it of wanting to trash the reef.

Despite their differences, the two government from opposite sides of the political spectrum will present a united front when they respond to UNESCO's concerns early next year.

Whether it's enough to prevent an in-danger listing for the reef won't be known until June, when UNESCO's World Heritage Committee will gather in Thailand to settle the issue.